When she’d hung up the phone, Maria stared at it for a moment. Ephraim had accepted her apology a great deal more nicely than he probably should have. She had insulted his family, his job, and his very way of life. But to forgive her so quickly—to act as if there had been nothing to forgive—that was good breeding. The kind of breeding she absolutely had not expected from the McClains.

Going to spend a day on the ranch would probably be a great thing for her to do. Getting to know the men who cared for her brother and seeing the things they did on the ranch on a daily basis would help her to understand why Michael liked it so much.

And it sure wouldn’t hurt her feelings to spend the day with the handsome Ephraim McClain. All of the McClain men were downright sexy, but Ephraim was the cherry on top of the McClain sundae. The fact that he got on so well with her brother and her dog made her think he might be worth getting to know. No one had ever been able to fool both of them.

She finished her morning coffee, stood up, and washed her cup out carefully. She wouldn’t make any extra work for the Andersons if she could at all help it. It was enough they gave her an inexpensive place to stay.

Walking back to her room, Maria dug through her closet, trying to find the right thing to wear. What was one supposed to wear to help perform surgery on an animal?

* * *

Ephraim was ready and waiting in the living room of the house at quarter ‘til ten. Breakfast dishes had been washed, put away, and most of the boys were on their way to do some more work on the fields. Ephraim had kept Hunter and Michael with him, knowing Hunter would probably need light duty until they got his lymphangiectasia under control.

Michael and Hunter—at sixteen and fourteen—weren’t the best of friends, but they went to the same high school in Bagley, and the boys got along very well. They didn’t really have a choice.

Michael looked at Hunter, a worried expression on his face. “I think you might need a Lillian day.”

Ephraim had wondered the same thing. Often when the boys were under the weather with something Daniel couldn’t instantly heal with his touch, they would spend the day with his mom. She pampered them and treated them like royalty, and everyone was better for it—including Lillian, because she enjoyed the boys so much.

Ephraim looked at Hunter. “Is that what you want? No one would have a problem with it if you spent the day with my mom. She’d treat you like a prince.”

Hunter grinned. “I’m honestly not feeling any worse than I was before the biopsy. I felt bad on the way home yesterday, but Daniel was right about the heating pad. As soon as he put it on me, I was better.”

“Well, stay with me this morning then, but if you feel worse later in the day, you just have to say so, and Lillian will use her magic momness to help you feel better.”

Hunter laughed. “Magic momness? If that describes anyone, it sure is Lillian!” He grinned at Ephraim. “I’ll let you know if it’s too much, and then Lillian can rescue me from my life of toil and pain.”

“Get a grip, Hunter! We’re not marrying you off to the handsome prince!” Michael rolled his eyes.

Ephraim ignored them both, worried that he should have worn his jeans with the holes in them after all. Did he want Maria thinking that he was dressing up for her?

They heard a car pull into the driveway, and the three of them got up, Nick’s cat ran toward the back of the house with a yowl, and Ephraim led the boys outside.

“You ready for a busy day?” Ephraim called to Maria.

Maria nodded. “I’m tough. Let’s do this.” She smiled at her brother, who grinned back.

“Glad you’re finally taking the time to get to know the awesomeness that is the McClains!” Michael grinned. “Are we driving or walking?”

Ephraim looked over at Hunter. “If you’re feeling up to it, it would be good to walk. If you’re not, we’ll drive it.”

Hunter rolled his eyes. “I told you I feel fine. I was born with that lymph thing I can’t pronounce. It’s not like I’m worse than I was yesterday just because I have a diagnosis for it now. Besides, even Daniel hadn’t ever seen it, and he’s a doctor!”

“I guess we’re walking!” Ephraim announced. Normally when leaving for the day, they’d all grab a couple of bottles of water, but he had everything they needed in the barn. It was his home away from home, after all.

Maria fell into step beside him, and he kept his voice low as he talked to her about their day. “I’ll be spaying two cats today, because we have enough kittens on this ranch already. The boys are used to helping me with this kind of thing, and I order them around. I’m not going to change how I talk to anyone just because you’re there with me.”

“Good,” she whispered back. “I want to see the ranch how it really is, not how you think I want it to be.”

“We don’t put on acts for anyone. What you see is what you get here.” He stopped at the barn and opened the door, walking toward the small surgery attached. “Jasper can stay with you, but make sure you control him at all times. I don’t want you without him, but he might not like what we’re doing in there.”

“All right.”

“May I have a moment with him? To try to explain?” He hadn’t meant to phrase it that way, but it was what he’d do.

“You’re going to explain what you’re doing to my dog?” Maria looked over at Michael, who seemed to be taking everything in stride. Did the McClains often say things like that?

“Yes. I’m good with animals.” He didn’t wait for her permission, instead crouching down to be at Jasper’s eye-level. Ephraim took the dog’s face in his hands and locked gazes with him, explaining with his thoughts exactly what would happen.

Jasper sent back understanding, so Ephraim stood up. “He’ll be fine.”

Maria thought he was crazy, but who was she to say? “All right.”

After that, Ephraim started barking orders at the boys, who had obviously been part of this before. “Get me the first cat!” He looked at Hunter who hurried away to do what he was told.

Michael was in the surgery with him, automatically setting out instruments. Maria had never seen her brother so focused on anything. She couldn’t deny that she was very impressed.

By noon, they’d finished both operations successfully, and the cats were sleeping in cages. “Time for lunch,” Ephraim announced. He looked at Hunter, concern in his eyes. “Are you all right? Do you need to stay with Mom this afternoon?”

Hunter nodded. “I’m probably okay to keep going, but a Lillian day sounds really nice.”

“Then that’s what you’ll get.” Ephraim looked at Maria. “My mother is making us all a quick lunch, and then three of us will come back here to continue working.”

“These boys are putting in men’s hours.” Maria wasn’t sure if she was impressed or a little worried about what was expected of her brother.

“Yes, on their days off of school, they do. It not only keeps them out of mischief, but it gives them incredible on-the-job training that they couldn’t get anywhere else. Michael has put in enough hours and gotten enough experience to be a veterinary technician. He knows whether or not a job in the veterinary field would be something he wants. He also knows how he feels about ranch work of all sorts. He could go off and be a farmer tomorrow, because he’s learned enough to do so.” Ephraim shrugged. “He’s a bright boy who is ready for life. Life won’t happen to him, because he will be writing his own destiny.”

Maria was shocked into silence for a bit as they walked, Jasper close to her side. “And if he wants none of those things? What if he wants to be a doctor?”

“He’s gotten great experience with the medical field as well. Trust me. We’re preparing him for his future, and he’s going to be the best man he can possibly be after five and a half years here at the ranch.” He got to the big house and walked right in, calling, “Mom! We’re here!”

His mother hurried out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron as she came. Her focus was clearly on Hunter, and she ran to him, hugging him close. “How are you feeling?”

Hunter smiled. “I’m all right, but Ephraim says I can have a Lillian day if I want.”

Lillian laughed. “You may have a Lillian day. You deserve it after being brave through that biopsy yesterday.”

“Good. I want to help get ready for the barbecue tonight.”

“Why are you having a barbecue tonight?” Maria asked. “An early Christmas celebration?” Christmas was only three days away, so that made sense to her.

“You must be Michael’s sister, Maria. I feel like you’re already a member of our family, because we have so much love for Michael.” Lillian hugged her. “We do a barbecue every Friday night.”

“Why?”

Lillian smiled. “We do it as a thank you to everyone who has worked so hard to keep this ranch going. We do it as a celebration of life.”

Maria couldn’t help but like the woman in front of her. “Ephraim invited me to come tonight. Will that be all right?”

“Absolutely. We’ll love having you here. For now, all of you sit. Lunch is ready.” Lillian hurried out of the room, and Ephraim led Maria into the dining room.

“Mom’s always like that. Don’t worry about it.”

“I think I like her.”

Ephraim grinned. “It’s impossible not to like Mom. We’re lucky to have someone like her in our lives.”

Michael plopped down in one of the chairs, and Maria could see he’d been there many times before. “How often do the boys get to eat here?” Maria asked.

“Oh, pretty often. I think most are here at least once a month. Michael, when was the last time you ate here in the big house?”

Michael shrugged. “Thanksgiving? No, I was here for Thanksgiving, and then I got to eat here after Caleb got married. There was one night when we all kind of got dumped on Lillian and Peter, and we spent the night. It was a lot of fun.”

Hunter nodded. “Yup. I remember that night. It was great. Lillian made chocolate cream pie for dessert, and we had the best enchiladas ever!”

Maria frowned. “I’m sure not better than our mom’s, right, Michael? Mom was raised in the Valley,” she said, referring to the Brownsville area of Texas. “Everyone loved her enchiladas.”

Michael bit his lip. “I think Lillian’s might just be better.”

“No way!” Maria was shocked he could even think that. Their mom had been the best cook ever!

Lillian walked in then with a huge pan of enchiladas, followed by refried beans, rice, queso, and chips. Everything Maria would have wanted for a feast was right there in front of her. “This smells delicious,” she said politely, still determined that her mother’s enchiladas had to be better than this woman’s. She didn’t look like she had even a speck of Mexican blood.

“Wait ‘til you taste it,” Ephraim told her.

An older man who had eyes identical to all of the McClain brothers walked in then. “You made enchiladas!” he said happily, catching Lillian by the waist and kissing her in front of everyone.

Lillian swatted his hand with a bit of a blush. “We have a guest!”

He looked at her and smiled. “You must be Michael’s sister, Maria. We’ve heard wonderful things about you. I’m Peter McClain.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. McClain.” Maria was surprised she was the only one he considered a guest. The boys didn’t live in their home, but they were obviously very welcome in it.

“Peter. There are too many McClains around here to stand on formalities.” He sat down at the head of the table, and while she watched, every head at the table bowed their heads for a prayer.

Maria bowed her head as well, pleased at the faith this family displayed so openly. As soon as the prayer was over, she looked over at her brother, who was happily filling his plate. He had good manners, a positive attitude, and he always had a smile on his face. This place really was good for him, as surprising as that was to her.

After taking her first bite of enchiladas, her heart sank. This woman was able to make better enchiladas than her mother had. Michael was right. She’d have to ask Lillian to teach her. “These are the best enchiladas I’ve ever eaten. I didn’t think anyone could make them better than my mother.”

Lillian smiled. “I love to cook. When I came to the ranch thirty-five years ago, I was here to cook for the hired hands.”

Maria frowned at that. “I didn’t think the ranch had hired hands. I figured that was why you worked the boys so hard.”

Peter laughed softly. “This ranch is financially stable, I promise you that. The reason we work the boys so hard is because it gives them the ability to do hard work. We’re teaching them to be the kind of adults they will need to be.”

It was almost exactly the same thing Ephraim had told her. Either it was true, or they were all drinking the same Kool-Aid. “What if you get a boy who is disabled, and he can’t do the same kind of physical work as the others?”

“May I answer?” Michael asked. Ephraim nodded, giving him permission to respond to his sister. “There’s a boy named John who’s in another home. He’s in a wheelchair. He does most of the same work as the rest of us, but they work hard to modify what he can and can’t do. So if we’re all traipsing through a field with bags of manure, he is the one refilling the bags with a shovel. He works hard too, just differently.”

Maria frowned at Michael. “And do you think a boy in a wheelchair should have to shovel manure?”

“I don’t think anyone should have to shovel manure, but I don’t think it hurts any of us either. And John is no different from the rest of us. He just has to work differently.”

With those words, Maria knew all of her fears had been pointless. Michael really was where he needed to be, learning the kind of values that she wanted her brother to have. She couldn’t complain even a little bit.